Nokia 5800 - touch-enabled, mid-range, music-focussed S60 phone
Published by Rafe Blandford at 16:31 UTC, October 2nd 2008
The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, a mid-range music-focussed phone, was launched today in London. It is Nokia's first touch enabled S60 phone. It runs S60 5th Edition on Symbian OS 9.4, has a 3.2" nHD (360 x 640) touch screen, WLAN and 3G connectivity, a 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera, integrated A-GPS and accelerometer and proximity sensors. To underline its music potential, the 5800 has a standard 3.5mm audio jack, stereo speakers, ships with a 8GB microSD card and will be one of the first phones to support Comes with Music (Q1 2009). It will be available worldwide in Q4 for 279 Euros (£215) before taxes and subsidies. Read on for much more.
The front of the device is dominated by the 3.2 inch nHD screen, there are three buttons along the bottom (right to left: end key, S60/home key, and send key) and a single button on the top right of the device which activates the media bar (a similar arrangement to the multimedia key on Nseries devices). The left hand side of the phone has a microSD card slot, the top of the phone houses a miniUSB connector, 3.5mm audio port, 2mm power port and the power button. The right hand side of the device has volume keys, a key-lock slider and camera capture button. The back of the device houses the 3.2 megapixel auto focus camera which boasts Carl-Zeiss optics and an accompanying dual LED flash.
The physical shape of the 5800 is closer to a typical phone than the wider tablet form favoured by many touch devices (e.g. iPhone). At 111 x 51.7 x 15.5 mm, it is about the same size as the Nokia N78 (113 x 49 x 15.1). The crucial difference is that the touchscreen takes up the majority of the front of the device and there is no numeric keypad.
The S60 5th Edition UI is designed to be used with either finger touch or with a stylus. While the UI has a familiar S60 feel, it has been optimised for touch. In portrait mode, two enlarged 'softkey labels' work as virtual keys for accessing menus (i.e. Options) and other common actions; in landscape mode, there are four virtual buttons (making up a toolbar) which do the same thing. On screen icons and menus all respond to touch interaction.
The familiar S60 applications are all available - PIM (Contacts, Calendar and Messaging), Media (Music player Gallery, Video centre, Web), services (Maps, Download!, Share online, Search) and a number of tools and utilities. Many applications have been optimised to take advantage of touch interaction and the extra screen space available. Web allows you to scroll around a page and select links using your finger, Calendar has a split screen view in landscape mode, Gallery lets you flick through media using your finger and so on.
The 5800 has a number of extra touch-related customisations. Firstly, the Media Bar, which gives quick access to the key multimedia applications. This is a drop down menu-bar that appears on the right hand side of the screen when you press the dedicated Media Bar key. Second is the Contact Bar (see image below) which lets you put your favourite contacts on your homescreen and displays information about them. Nokia call this a 'human interface that truly puts people first'.
The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic's Contact Home Screen
Key features of the phone:
Software:
- Runs S60 5th Edition on Symbian OS 9.5. It supports both finger and stylus touch. The 5800 has a stylus built in that is stored in a holder on the back left hand side of the device (although you can use any other instrument too).
- Contact bar, a customised home screen which offers a people centric user interface. It lets you have four contacts/people on the home screen. When a person is selected, an activity log of communication and recent feed entries is shown, along with action shortcuts for calling and messaging. Contact bar is one of three choices for the home screen (idle screen), the others are the standard basic home screen and the shortcut home screen which offers application and function shortcuts (previously known as the active idle screen).
- Media bar (drop down menu), which is accessible, at any time, via a dedicated key on the top right of the device. It offers shortcuts to the media functionality of the phone (music, pictures, share, video and web).
- There are three text input methods available. First, via a virtual on screen QWERTY keyboard which is available in both landscape mode (suitable for finger touch) and portrait mode (better suited to the stylus). Secondly, via a virtual on screen numeric keypad, including T9, in portrait mode (suited to both finger touch and stylus). Thirdly, via hand-writing recognition (stylus by necessity). You can also use Bluetooth (HID profile) keyboards with the 5800.
- The phone will ship with the new Nokia Music PC client, which can be used to synchronize music to and from the device. It can also be used to buy and download music from the Nokia Music Store. Alternatively, you can use Windows Media Player 11 or any other software which supports MTP (Media Transfer Protocol).
- The 5800 ships with two games, a version of Bounce (a 3D platform/puzzle game) and a version of Global Racer. In Global Racer, you steer your car by tilting the phone from side to side, using the built-in accelerometer.
Hardware:
- Physical dimensions: 111 x 51.7 x 15.5 mm; weight: 109g.
- 3.2 inch, 360 x 640 resolution, touch screen (resistive). You can use the touch screen using your finger, stylus or plectrum. A stylus is built into the device and the phone will ship with one spare stylus and a plectrum (musical gadget used to puck strings) which is attached to the included lanyard.
- Haptic feedback when you touch the screen. This is provided via general vibra feedback (i.e. it is not specific to the area of the screen you touch).
- Proximity sensor (to prevent accidental screen touches) and an accelerometer sensor which is used to automatically rotate the screen, orientate photos and can be addressed via third party developers via Sensor APIs in the SDK.
- 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl-Zeiss optics and a dual LED flash. Photos and videos can be uploaded to Share on Ovi, Flickr and Facebook using the embedded Share online application. The camera can also be used to record videos at up to VGA resolution (640x480) at 30 frames per second.
- Integrated A-GPS, which is used by the Nokia Maps application to provide turn-by-turn, voice guided car navigation as well as pedestrian navigation. The GPS is also used to automatically (and optionally) geotag photos.
- microSD card slot, with support for SDHC cards up to 16GB in size (and likely 32GB cards when they come out). An 8GB card will be included in the sales box. 81MB of internal memory.
- WiFi, 3.5G (HSDPA) and Bluetooth connectivity (various profiles including HID, SAP, A2DP and AVRCP).
- 1320 mAh battery, with a quoted talk time of 9 hours (WCDMA) and music playback time of 35 hours.
- The sales box contains a Nokia 5800 with stylus pen, an extra stylus, Nokia Connectivity Cable, stylus plectrum in wrist strap (CP-306), Nokia Music Headset (AD-54, HS-45), Nokia 8GB microSD card (MU-43), Nokia Carrying Case (CP-305), Nokia Portable Stand (DT-29), and Nokia Video-out Cable (CA-75U).
- There are three different model variants (5800-1 -2 and -3) with different 3G bands for different markets. The 5800 will be available in three colour variants: silver-black, red and blue.
The inevitable comparison
The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will inevitably be compared with Apple's iPhone and T-Mobile's G1 Android phone. While a direct comparison does have it uses, it is also worth noting that the three phones all occupy different segments.
The 5800 is not a flagship device for Nokia; it does not have the Nseries branding, and this is reflected in its price point. Clearly the 5800 will receive attention as Nokia's first S60 touch-enabled phone, but the touch features are best seen as an enabler rather than a central function. Nokia has long regarded touch as something that is a feature that is built into the platform - as such the 5800 is not Nokia's 'touch phone'; indeed, from now onwards, we can expect to see numerous S60 devices, from multiple licensees, taking advantage of the new touch capabilities of S60.
Size comparison of HTC Diamond, Apple iPhone 3G, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Nokia N78
And finally...
We'll be adding more information and publishing further coverage in due course.
Check back later for our hands-on impressions after we've got back from the launch event in London.
Please leave your questions in the comments thread and we'll do our best to answer them or get you answers from Nokia.
See Also
S60 5th Edition announced
Evolving S60: Touch UI, Sensor Framework and Accelerator Toolkit (feature article from last year)
External links:
Official Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Flash product page
Official press release
Nokia 5800 Xpress Music on desk stand
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Categories: Hardware
Platforms: S60 5th Edition
News Discussion
Tzer2
Quote:
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It will be available worldwide in Q4 for 279 Euros (£215) before taxes and subsidies. Read on for much more.
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I think the launch price is the detail that stands out most IMHO, it's amazingly cheap.
The pre-tax SIM-free price of the iPhone is approx 500 euros once you remove network operator subsidy, so in effect the 5800 is about half the price of the iPhone. Even on contract these price differences are visible because less expensive phones have lower up front costs (many are free!) and lower monthly fees.
As such I think Rafe is right to be cautious about direct comparisons as they're in a totally different price range, and so to some extent aimed at different markets. In some ways the 5800 perhaps should be seen more as an "iPhone lite" rather than an "iPhone killer", with Nokia's true iPhone competitors yet to come.
The first Nseries touchscreen devices will probably be much closer in price to the iPhone, and much more direct competitors.
Going the other way, I wouldn't be surprised if Apple brings out its own cheaper touchscreen phones ("iPhone Nanos" perhaps?) and these would be what the 5800 would be directly up against.
Tzer2
(Incidentally, is everyone able to post in this thread? Someone in the other news thread said they couldn't comment here, but I just checked the thread settings and it should be open for all comments. If you can't post here please let us know in the S60 5th Edition thread.)
langdona
I think the make or break is going to be text entry.
You have 3 choices (On Screen Keyboard, on screen number pad and handwriting recognition) but will any of them be good enough?
But all in all it looks like a good device at a good price that should appeal to touchscreen fans.
Tzer2
Quote:
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You have 3 choices (On Screen Keyboard, on screen number pad and handwriting recogition) but will any of them be good enough?
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Definitely a biggie, it was one of the things the iPhone got some flack for from some reviewers, and texting may even be one of the things that has kept touchscreen phones in a niche so far. If most people continue to simply prefer buttons, that may be a glass ceiling on how far touchscreen phones will spread.
There's possibly no perfect solution because different people prefer different techniques, different people have different finger sizes, and also of course it's innately more difficult to type on a flat panel than real buttons.
Tzer2
Hello, anyone who has wanted to leave a comment please try again. Langdona seems to have solved the problem we had with this thread.
Unregistered
Quite larger but a much smaller neater package than the slab iPhone.
No word on tactile feed back (touch vibration) ?
Tzer2
Unregistered, yes there is tactile feedback.
Rafe notes in the article that it does have touch/vibration feedback but it's not localised to a particular screen area.
tnkgrl
Oh this is sweeter than I expected... I'll be getting my hands on this soon!
Ratkat
Strangely, considering I have had no interest in this previously, I feel myself drawn to wanting one, bugger.
Tzer2
Ratkat, know what you mean.
I wrote an editorial for AAS a short while ago attacking the idea of buying devices on their launch day, but this really does tempt me into being an early adopter myself. The surprisingly low price makes it particularly tempting.
Unfortunately (or fortunately?) my bank balance won't allow any new gadget purchases in the near future. :-)
Karlo_N80ie
by my understanding, s60 5th ed is basically like s60 3rd ed by with touch and other sensors enabled. If so, the os alone can compete with the iPhone's. the same form factor, but hands down better specs on the tube. Plus, the freedom to choose any gsm network and still get it for cheap.
3 points for nokia for having a very impressive, artistic, and in-your-face comeback.
By the time nsedies touch devices come out, and there is n-gage support, people will be like, "iPhone? What's that?"
I'm already anxious to replace this iPhone!
jrmt
Note that it is using Symbian OS v9.4, not v9.5 as stated in the article.
Arcade
With the plectrum and the touch screen, I can see a guitar application in my mind already. Maybe a S60 version of Guitar Hero ? It has the makings for a great touch-screen specific Ngage game. Does it not ?
And this isnt even the flagship ! What the hell are they gonna put into the flagship touchscreen ?? (apart from a 5/8 mp cam and ngage/ovi support):rolleyes:
Unregistered
I've always hated touch screen phones, but if I use a bluetooth keyboard this could be just what I've been looking for and at just the right price too. Of all S60 phones I thought this would be the one I'm least likely to upgrade to, yet now it's top of my list. Does it have TV-out capabilities?
Unregistered
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
I've always hated touch screen phones, but if I use a bluetooth keyboard this could be just what I've been looking for and at just the right price too. Of all S60 phones I thought this would be the one I'm least likely to upgrade to, yet now it's top of my list. Does it have TV-out capabilities?
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Yes, it does, TV out cable is included in the retail box ^.^
martinharnevie
I'm very dependent on touchscreens because since Psion days I tend to scribble a lot, from small drawings to fishbone type stuff... so this is great news... finally a S60 device i can actually use.
Unregistered
malerocks
Awesome!!! And the build quality looks so good as compared to the nseries phones...
ccraig
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arcade
With the plectrum and the touch screen, I can see a guitar application in my mind already. Maybe a S60 version of Guitar Hero ? It has the makings for a great touch-screen specific Ngage game. Does it not ?
And this isnt even the flagship ! What the hell are they gonna put into the flagship touchscreen ?? (apart from a 5/8 mp cam and ngage/ovi support):rolleyes:
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theres already a guitar game on it i saw video on pocket gamer of a racing game using motion sensor control and a gameloft guitar game using the plectrum
Foobar
Has anyone any idea how good or bad is the backward compatibility with existing 3rd edition software? Are they binary compatible or do they require recompiling on new SDK? How about user interfaces..? How will the old 3rd designed UIs scale to the new screen size and touch interface?
Ratkat
Anyone know what the screen is like?, is it a 'soft' screen like most stylus based phones or is it a 'hard' glass? screen like the iPhone.
Unregistered
@Karlo_N80ie,
As an iPhone owner, I have to agree with you. I am really liking what I see with this phone. I have had the N800, and the N810 so I am familar with the way the screen works so I can cope. The iPhones screen tech is superb but I am also sure Nokia will come out with something similar. I think Nokia scored an impressive coup with an outstanding feature list in a TS phone. No matter how the Appleistas want to slice, it the 5800 is competition. They also forget that there are possibly tens of thousand if not more, that do not want an iPhone, but were waiting for Nokia to deliver. I am sure the N and E series phones that will be arriving (hopefully) will be another winning alternative. After ridding my entire iTunes lib of DRM, and only purchasing via Amazon, I am looking forward to giving my iPhone to my daughter.
bartmanekul
Odd, everything I saw beforehand led me to think it would have internal memory (8gb/16gb) instead/as well as a card slot.
Furie
Damn didn't notice the video out cable. So, does anyone know the available RAM yet?
Unregistered
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ratkat
Anyone know what the screen is like?, is it a 'soft' screen like most stylus based phones or is it a 'hard' glass? screen like the iPhone.
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The screen is most like a soft one because its touchscreen is of the resistive type (similar to UIQ devices). You need to appy pressure for input. The iPhone touchscreen is based on capacitive technology which works to finger electricity. That's why iPhone touchsreen is more subtle and precise.
It also does not support multitouch as this is patented by Apple already.
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